Hey everyone,

I just wanted to share some of my most favorite songs about suicide and mental health, by the band Twenty-One Pilots:

Ode to Sleep and Migraine.

In the song Ode To Sleep, he’s having a conversation with the demons and his suicidal thoughts. He says, “Why won’t you let me go? Do I threaten all your plans? I’m insignificant. Please tell them[my friends] you [the demons] have no plans for me[won’t make me kill myself], I will set my soul on fire.. What have I become?” and then sort of as an after- thought, “I’ll tell them.” Aka, I’ll tell my friends I’m not going to die, when I might actually. But I don’t want them to worry about me.

But in rebellion of the demons, he says, “I’ll stay awake, cause the dark’s not taking prisoners tonight.” WE CAN FIGHT THE DEMONS!

He also says,“Some see a pen, I see a harpoon.” Wow, so true!

He’s almost surprised when he wakes up in the morning to find that he slept pretty well and the demons stopped haunting them. In a moment of celebration, he says, “I must have kicked them out. I must have kicked them out!” and tells us, “They told me I was gone. They told me I was GONE… but I’ll tell them, Why won’t you let me go?” and then the saga of questions.

Migraine also brings up questions about the demons:

“Am I the only one I know, waging a war behind my face and above my throat?[aka in my brain]. Shadows will scream that I’m alone, but I know we’ve made it this far, kid.” I love the optimism in that line. We’re going to make it through this.

But he’s living in hell because of the migraine in his head, which is caused by his anxiety and suicidal thoughts. He says about it, “Let it be said what the headache represents, it’s me defending in suspense, it’s me suspended in a defenseless test, being tested by a ruthless examiner that’s represented best by my depressing thoughts.

I do not have writer’s block, my writer just hates the clock. It will not let me sleep, I guess I’ll sleep when I’m dead.
And sometimes death seems better than the migraine in my head.”

Our minds seem to be shipwrecked islands full of “crazed suicidal lions” trying to kill us. Sometimes, to stay alive, “You gotta kill your mind.”

Then Tyler tells us to take a day to have a break from the pain our brains have given us. The game is NOT PLAYED ALONE. Take a moment to breathe and realize that there are good things out there. We have each other, guys. We can do this. You’re not alone. You’re gonna have to kill your mind, kill the suicidal thoughts.We all will. It’s gonna be okay.

Ode To Sleep:

Migraine: